What is Colony Collapse Disorder?

Colony Collapse Disorder, as it became known, was inexplicable and mildly disturbing, particularly so because it seemed to occur almost overnight. Beginning in 2006 or so, bees (especially honey bees) were disappaearing. Even more frighteningly, nobody knew why, or currently knows exactly why the bees were dying off. Theories ranged from viruses to increased radiation from cell phones to the idea that bees were aliens and were escaping Earth's imminent doom to return to their home galaxy (admittedly that last one was from Dr. Who). The truth is that nobody knows why.

CCD is still occurring, although the initial hubbub has died down, and some agricultural scientists are concerned about its effects on crops across the globe. Because while it may be annoying for honey prices to go up, that's something we can live with. What would be much harder to live with would be if all of the plants that relied mostly upon bees, particularly honey bees, for their pollination were to suddenly lose that important source of pollination.

What You Can Do to Help Bees

Fortunately you can help improve the situation yourself, or help other people do so, directly. Raising bees is, for many people, a labor of environmental love, not to mention an occasional source of cash from honey sales. If you have a bit of land to work with bees can help naturally encourage plant pollination and growth in your local area. Even city dwellers can get in on the action in some localities. 

With the bee population dropping, plants from fruit trees to flowers face reproductive threat. By raising bees, especially honey bees, anyone can help their local ecological area flourish. Manmade apiaries are even more important now, as the wild honeybee population has mostly died off within Europe and large parts of the United States. Human built apiaries are now the only home for colonies of honeybees in large parts of the world. 

Besides all that, locally grown honey is delicious. Unlike prepackaged honey, which is standardized to taste the same all over the world, home grown honey has a range of flavors. The particular flower that bees feed on can have a major influence on the flavor of the honey, and can be manipulated by locating hives in certain flower fields or planting certain things around hives. Local honey is an eco friendly, organic alternative to the mass produced, pre packaged stuff you get in a plastic bear. 

Who's Making Honey These Days? Meet the Clarks!

Rick and Amy Clark live on the rural outskirts of Mechanicsville, VA on a plot of several acres. They began raising honeybees within the past year, and while they are not yet onto the honey production stage of the process they say they have enjoyed raising the bees immensely. Amy Clark said: “An increasing interest in environmental concerns and my search for a meaningful hobby as I entered retirement led me to take a beginner’s beekeeping class.  In the class, I learned of the many challenges faced by the honey bee population through loss of habitat, pollution and disease.  Beekeeping provided me with the opportunity to address, even if in a small way, the crisis posed by colony collapse disorder and the dramatic decrease in the wild honey bee population.  The prospect of honey as a by-product of our environmental efforts was also very attractive.” 

“In our interaction with other beekeepers in our county, my husband and I have seen firsthand the value of local honey production and beekeeping operations.  In addition to being delicious, pure local honey is highly sought after as concern about additives and alternations to food through commercial production operations has increased.  Our honey producing colleagues are able to sell all the honey that they can produce each year.  Eating local honey harvested within 50 miles of where you live also offers the benefit of relieving pollen allergy symptoms.  Local beekeeping operations are critically important to local farmers and gardeners in the growth of bountiful and healthy crops, since honey bees account for 80 percent of all pollination.  In addition to being a lot of fun, we have found backyard beekeeping to be a noble endeavor.”

Want to eat more organic foods to keep healthy but worried about saving money too? Check out How to Eat Organic On the Cheap for info about how to do it.